Just to add to the stoke.
Did the Dream Highway event happen? Also, any new improvements?
snowsmith wrote:
Did the Dream Highway event happen? Also, any new improvements?
We had to cancel due to wet weather. We need state park trucks to haul out brush that we cleared in the spring and planned to clear on Saturday. Last fall during wet condition we nearly got a truck stuck and risked the safety of the state park employee driving the truck. We will try again next Saturday. As far as improvements, I've not heard of any major improvements.
They have spent a bundle at Seven Springs - redid the main lobby area, reconstructed the main parking lot, restaurant renovations. At HV, they eliminated the loading carpet and I believe did some compressor maintenance on the 10 year old Techno -Alpin fan guns. They spent millions at 7S and thousands at HV. Eric Mauch thinks of us as competition thus why spend a lot on the competition?
Let's get this party started!!!
Since it is now December, and cold temperatures are returning this week, is this the week that Laurel starts making snow?
msprings wrote:
Since it is now December, and cold temperatures are returning this week, is this the week that Laurel starts making snow?
That has been their stated intent. I would be surprised if they don't.
snowmaking to start tuesday, full staff on now
imp wrote:
snowmaking to start tuesday, full staff on now
Love to hear it!
A little bit of a side bar, I know the terrain to the skiers right of Dream Highway is out of bounds, but what is that terrain like? Possible to ski it?
The webcam lense is covered in ice, so we can’t see if snow making has commenced.
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
msprings wrote:
A little bit of a side bar, I know the terrain to the skiers right of Dream Highway is out of bounds, but what is that terrain like? Possible to ski it?
Lots of brush and deadfall. This is the east afterall.
”mid-atlantic” ..... however, if u follow some earlybirds midweek, after a fresh snow ... u’d be surprised at what lies beyond the trail’s edge
56fish wrote:
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
msprings wrote:
A little bit of a side bar, I know the terrain to the skiers right of Dream Highway is out of bounds, but what is that terrain like? Possible to ski it?
Lots of brush and deadfall. This is the east afterall.
”mid-atlantic” ..... however, if u follow some earlybirds midweek, after a fresh snow ... u’d be surprised at what lies beyond the trail’s edge
Maybe 30 years ago. There are few, if any, natural glades in the Mid-Atlantic or New England. They all require a human hand.
Mid-Atlantic is in the east, no?
Laurel getting it done on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/BrAjLoIn31N/
Wow, they must have gotten that big fan cannon from 7 Springs.
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
56fish wrote:
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
msprings wrote:
A little bit of a side bar, I know the terrain to the skiers right of Dream Highway is out of bounds, but what is that terrain like? Possible to ski it?
Lots of brush and deadfall. This is the east afterall.
”mid-atlantic” ..... however, if u follow some earlybirds midweek, after a fresh snow ... u’d be surprised at what lies beyond the trail’s edge
Maybe 30 years ago. There are few, if any, natural glades in the Mid-Atlantic or New England. They all require a human hand.
Mid-Atlantic is in the east, no?
Mid-Atlantic indeed in the east .... but, more than a few areas in Northeast do groom glades. And, natural glades - tap into AlpineZone forums ðŸº
56fish wrote:
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
56fish wrote:
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
msprings wrote:
A little bit of a side bar, I know the terrain to the skiers right of Dream Highway is out of bounds, but what is that terrain like? Possible to ski it?
Lots of brush and deadfall. This is the east afterall.
”mid-atlantic” ..... however, if u follow some earlybirds midweek, after a fresh snow ... u’d be surprised at what lies beyond the trail’s edge
Maybe 30 years ago. There are few, if any, natural glades in the Mid-Atlantic or New England. They all require a human hand.
Mid-Atlantic is in the east, no?
Mid-Atlantic indeed in the east .... but, more than a few areas in Northeast do groom glades. And, natural glades - tap into AlpineZone forums ðŸº
Thanks for the info. One thing about the glades you mentioned is that they are in bounds (groomed) or cleaned up every year. My concern is that msprings ventures down right of Dream then has a hike out or worse. It has been a few years since I hiked down there. The woods were open at the top but halfway down thick with brush and saplings with downed trees chest high and a very rocky get out at the bottom. So unless you or someone you know has been down there to clean things up, please don't suggest they trek down there. Now there maybe other out of bounds trees that might be skiable but skiers right of Dream, while it was skiable 30 or so years ago, probably is not now. That area is near Lower Wildcat steep too.
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
56fish wrote:
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
56fish wrote:
Laurel Hill Crazie wrote:
msprings wrote:
A little bit of a side bar, I know the terrain to the skiers right of Dream Highway is out of bounds, but what is that terrain like? Possible to ski it?
Lots of brush and deadfall. This is the east afterall.
”mid-atlantic” ..... however, if u follow some earlybirds midweek, after a fresh snow ... u’d be surprised at what lies beyond the trail’s edge
Maybe 30 years ago. There are few, if any, natural glades in the Mid-Atlantic or New England. They all require a human hand.
Mid-Atlantic is in the east, no?
Mid-Atlantic indeed in the east .... but, more than a few areas in Northeast do groom glades. And, natural glades - tap into AlpineZone forums ðŸº
Thanks for the info. One thing about the glades you mentioned is that they are in bounds (groomed) or cleaned up every year. My concern is that msprings ventures down right of Dream then has a hike out or worse. It has been a few years since I hiked down there. The woods were open at the top but halfway down thick with brush and saplings with downed trees chest high and a very rocky get out at the bottom. So unless you or someone you know has been down there to clean things up, please don't suggest they trek down there. Now there maybe other out of bounds trees that might be skiable but skiers right of Dream, while it was skiable 30 or so years ago, probably is not now. That area is near Lower Wildcat steep too.
was the generalization to which I spoke ... not suggesting anything
I see the snowguns have been turned off after about 48 hours of snow making. Is there a reason for this? The web site says they’ll make snow when the conditions allow for it. It seems like a good opportunity to build up a decent base.
temperature on the xcweb cam is 34
that camera is out by gatehouse to Laurel. too warm for a while.
I will not go out past dream what was once there is not findable. too much brush and fallen trees.
Any news on opening day?
Boyce Park just east of Pittsbugh opened this past weekend... Laurel, TBD.
Shame on Nutting and his lack of commitment to the red headed step child that is Laurel.
I think this would be Eric Mauch’s decision. He is the CEO. But I think they should at least make a commitment to next weekend. They seem to have made enough snow. They should make an announcement so skiers can make plans.
opening Friday 9-9 not sure of trail count
I'm ok with Broadway. Hope for Wildcat.
They said on their Facebook that snowmaking on Wildcat was hoped for after this latest warm up before the inch or more of rain. It'll be cold for a few overnight hours this week but will humidity cooperate and is that enough time to get Wildcat open? I think Ski Top, Tame Cat, Upper and Lower Broadway and Deer Path is what to realistically expect.
If they open I'll be there on Friday. If Doc's Glade is firm or frozen I'll see what needs to be done to make it safe to ski. That was on our DCNR trail work agenda but several scheduled work days were rained out. I don't know if Laurel's crew did any work there.
They’ve been making snow, all day. But I do not see any announcements.
I hope we hear something later today. The weather looks bad for a Friday opening.
How could anyone open on Friday? And who will be skiing in rain storms?
It's official now: http://www.laurelmountainski.com/ski-ride/snow-report/
Hello, Laurel Mountain, the big annoucement you all have been waiting for!
Our team has been working around the clock to set us up for a fantastic 2018/2019 season at Laurel Mountain. We will be OPENING on Saturday, December 22nd at 9am for skiing and snowboarding!
We will have a Kick Off Party in the Wildcat Lounge on Friday, December 21st at 4pm. Guest Services will also be open from 4pm-8pm to pick up your season pass.
Hours of Operation:
Saturday, December 22nd 9am-9pm
Sunday, December 23rd 9am-9pm
Monday, December 24th 9am-4pm
Tuesday, December 25th 12pm-9pm
Wednesday, December 26th 9am-9pm
See you on the slopes Saturday!
Cheers-Sarah
So I hear that LM is short on compressor power which is supposedly why no snow has been made on Lower Wildcat. This is surprising. Didn’t 7S recently sign a lease? Is this Beancounter Mauch’s decision to cheap out on compressor power?
I'm hearing look down the food chain but it's hard to imagine that this is a mystery to all managers throughout the organization. I always assumed that the unofficial target date for opening is the weekend before Christmas but they have had Wildcat ready on opening day since reopening.
I posted this earlier today: http://www.dcski.com/forum/95969#new
Given the current frigid weather, is snow being made on Wildcat?
snowmaking in progress on Lower wildcat since around midnight, also upper wildcat which should open Friday,
Lower possible for Sunday
Anyword on Innsbruck? Having all 3 runs open is a big deal for me to provide some terrain variety.
upper wildcat Saturday, Lower monday, Innsbruck by wednesday
the snow is there but they have 2 broken grromers. both should be fixed by wednesday, then the fun can begin
Geez they can't catch a break. Probably already would have been fixed if it had happened at 7S or HV though ...
imp wrote:
the snow is there but they have 2 broken grromers. both should be fixed by wednesday, then the fun can begin
Let us keep our fingers crossed.
They must have gotten 1 groomer fixed because all the whales were harpooned on Lower and Innsbruck and snow making was in progress. It looks like they have enough made to open both with good base depth. Let;s hope that weekend storm gets the entire mountain. Now, I cautiously skiec Dream last year but I never really let them run. It would be nice to be able to ski that with out concern for my bases or water bars.
The snow surface was great today and the crowds...what crowds? I am really spoiled to have so much trail all to myself, top to bottom.
What a difference 2 weeks makes. I hear that Dream Highway will officially be open tomorrow. Laurel Run has been opened for several days. The Kitty Cats, the slopes that feed back to the chair and parallel Laurel Run are skiable. I saw two guys, one with this garish blue jacket and the other in a borrowed black jacket, poach the lower chair lift line and they weren't the first ones to do it. All the natural snow terrain is skiable. Hopefully all those closed signs will come down soon.
heard the blue coat guy did a little anatomical grooming
joe's trail skiied well today
imp wrote:
heard the blue coat guy did a little anatomical grooming
joe's trail skiied well today
I need a refresher on how to drop in but by now I guess I can follow your tracks. :~). I tried yesterday but found nothing but snags and I knew I dropped in too early. Did you try the Goat? Yes that blue coat guy did a little flailing and butt packed some snow. Sorry msprings, Joe's and the Goat (not Tom Brady) is something a local must show you and you know how folks can be about their favorite powder stash.
boot tracks only! now covered by blown snow. never leave ski tracks for those who do not cut the way
I'm not following sucker tracks LOL. You first!
Random question, I am going to Laurel Mountain for the first time on Saturday. What should I expect? Does it get crowded? Thanks!
skithealleghenies wrote:
Random question, I am going to Laurel Mountain for the first time on Saturday. What should I expect? Does it get crowded? Thanks!
Crowds are not an issue at LM. We'll all be there on Saturday. I believe our group will have yellow ribbon on their ski poles.?
Short answer... no. There will be a few locals, a bunch of middle-aged people like me, and a handful of millenials who missed the November bus to Denver. You'll love it!
This Saturday might have a few more people than usual because this is the first time since opening that the entire mountain is open. Having said that, I doubt there will be much wait time for the lift. Last weekend the lodge was crowded upstairs and down but there was no line at the lift, well maybe a few people in front of you.
If you've never been to Laurel keep in mind that in winter you can get there only via Rt. 30 and the Laurel Summit Rd, If your GPS tells you otherwise do not follow it. All back road to the mountain are not plowed and in fact are given over to snowmobiles.
skithealleghenies wrote:
Random question, I am going to Laurel Mountain for the first time on Saturday. What should I expect? Does it get crowded? Thanks!
1. If you need a ticket say the magic words on Fri, Sat or Sun: "Support Laurel Mountain Group", that will get you a Daily ticket open-to-close for $41 (or you could get a three-day ticket for $104).
2. Tie a yellow ribbon on your ski pole if you want to be recognized by the Gatherers, which could be fun or trouble depending on your point of view:-) Some of us will be up there on Friday, more coming Saturday.
3. 3-7" of snow forecast for Friday during the day up on Laurel Mtn!
I'm not sure but there might be a discount on all weekend passes so tell them that you're with the Support Laurel Mountain Group and see if one is available.
JimK wrote:
1. If you need a ticket say the magic words on Fri, Sat or Sun: "Support Laurel Mountain Group", that will get you a Daily ticket open-to-close for $41 (or you could get a three-day ticket for $104).
2. Tie a yellow ribbon on your ski pole if you want to be recognized by the Gatherers, which could be fun or trouble depending on your point of view:-) Some of us will be up there on Friday, more coming Saturday.
3. 3-7" of snow forecast for Friday during the day up on Laurel Mtn!
I'm not sure but there might be a discount on the all weekend pass so tell them that you're with the Support Laurel Mountain Group and see if one is available.
with the weather forcasts of warmer sunny Saturday I expect an actual crowd then. Friday should be ski down, ski on, ride up.
no yellow on my poles just a white cross
Yeah, but maybe the Super Bowl Sunday effect will be working for us.
Thanks for the tips everyone! Can't wait to get up there!
